Taran Carter- Owl sfutel

Melbourne based composer Taran Carter has spun his creative twist on a new work for bass flute and piano titled, 'Owl sfutel,' which is a play on the words Low Flutes. The substantial piece is set in four movements and will feature Carter's lyrical and syncopated compositional styles.

The first movement opens in a Impressionistic sound world, as the bass flutes sounds a lyrical and mysterious flutter tongued phrase in the low register against the high sounds of a sustain piano chord. This leads to a cadenza-like meno mosso section which gently segues into a faster rhythmic section of the opening material. The ending allows the bass flute the last word in a simple yet effective minor second staccato oscillation.

The second movement (Allegretto) features the piano and explores interesting rhythmic phrases set in wide intervallic leaps. There are sections where extended techniques are used (slap tongue, overblowing, timbral finergings and harmonics) on the bass flute and this combined with several 3rd register passages, provide a fantastic compositional tension to the overall structure of the movement.

Con Molto Energy is the musical instruction for the 3rd movement. With it's fiery and funky syncopated phrasing, along with richly voiced piano chords, the movement allows the performer an opportunity for improvisation on written pitch sets towards the later half.

The final fourth movement is an Adagio that possibly can best be described as a modern day hip Siciliano in 6/8. With a touch of Bach-like counterpoint Carter takes a four bar theme and creates both rhythmic and melodic illusions through his use of voicing and clever cross rhythms. The closing coda (Vivo) slightly expands the fugue theme and momentarily hints at the opening phrase of the work.

Working with Mr. Carter has been a true inspiration for flutist Peter Sheridan, as he enjoys and supports the active growth of repertoire for the all the low flutes. This creative and excellent work will surely find its way into the main stream repertoire.